PBL Action: Marin overcomes Zhang as Pune 7 open account

Carolina Marin

World champion Carolina Marin had to find a special gear against 2018 India Open champion Beiwen Zhang to help Pune 7 Aces earn their first points in the fourth edition of the Premier Badminton League at the NSCI Dome, Worli yesterday.

Marin, who had lost her first match of the new season against Hyderabad Hunters' PV Sindhu in the tournament opener, was under pressure after her team lost the first two matches of the second tie, having lost all the five matches on Saturday.

Zhang was high on confidence with her team already 3-0 ahead and that showed in her aggressive play in the opening game and had a 9-7 lead before Marin strung a series of four points to get a two-point advantage. Marin then showed the trademark big match temperament to see off a spirited fight from Zhang, who closed in at 14-13, by raising the tempo of the rally to pocket the game.

The Spaniard seemed to be in a hurry to finish the match as she simply raised the pace of the rallies and was seen moving quickly between points as she raced to a 8-1 lead. Zhang fought back well as she managed to close the gap at 11-8 but Marin kept her composure to win 15-13, 15-9 to claim two points.

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